


What if Ladybug Didn't Recharge? (The Bubbler)

by ShawnaCanon



Series: What If? (Episode-Based One-Shots) [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien's Blue Scarf, Birthday, F/M, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 09:41:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30019839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShawnaCanon/pseuds/ShawnaCanon
Summary: Ladybug's decision to use her Lucky Charm to interrupt Adrien's slow dance with Chloe has actual consequences this time around.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: What If? (Episode-Based One-Shots) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2174268
Comments: 17
Kudos: 78





	What if Ladybug Didn't Recharge? (The Bubbler)

**Author's Note:**

> In the show, that countdown after Ladybug's record Lucky Charm is the fastest five minutes (or four minutes) in history.

Ladybug’s Lucky Charm ricocheted off the wall and landed on the turntable, right where she’d wanted it. The romantic song that’d had Adrien slow dancing with Chloe of all people changed to an upbeat tune, and all the dancing couples broke apart. Smug satisfaction at seeing Adrien gently pushing Chloe away made Ladybug smile.

Bubbler was less happy. “Dude, who just hijacked my mix?”

“Yours truly,” Ladybug said, still pleased with herself.

The small crowd of her schoolmates turned to look up, jaws dropping as they saw her standing on top of the walls surrounding the Agreste mansion. Several of them cheered, “Ladybug!”

Bubbler looked up from his turntable and shot her an angry glare.

It occurred to Ladybug that she maybe shouldn’t have used her Lucky Charm so pointlessly, especially if she was going to draw the villain’s attention afterward. Cat Noir was still nowhere in sight, and now she was on a timer before she would detransform. And she wouldn’t be able to use her Lucky Charm again unless she was able to get away—which didn’t look like it would happen, now that the villain knew she was there. She had a feeling Tikki would chew her out for this later, but for now, all she could do was go with it. She shot out her yo-yo and hit the plug to the speakers, shutting off Bubbler’s music. “Sorry, Bubbler, but the party’s over!”

He’d already been tensing for a fight, but this made him even angrier. “Why you gotta be like that?”

They exchanged the usual barbs, and Bubbler drew his bubble wand sword thing and started shooting bubbles at her. As the bystanders scattered, Ladybug’s earrings beeped. She really hoped Cat Noir would get here soon so they could take care of Bubbler, or else she’d have to find a way to escape to recharge in a few minutes. Fortunately, her partner showed up less than a minute later.

Things seemed to be going pretty well in the fight, until Bubbler managed to get both of them trapped in one of his bubbles. When Ladybug’s earrings beeped their one-minute warning, Cat Noir gave her a concerned look, but they were still in the middle of a stand-off with Bubbler, so she just kept trying to talk sense into the villain, hoping she could get through to Nino and he’d let them go before she detransformed.

No such luck. All she and Cat Noir did was make Bubbler mad enough to kick their bubble high into the air. As they shot up and up, leaving the Eiffel Tower far below them, Ladybug got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She definitely shouldn’t have let her jealousy of Chloe get the better of her.

“Use your Cataclysm!” Ladybug urged.

“Couldn’t you have said that five hundred feet ago?”

They really didn’t have time for his complaining. _She_ didn’t have time. “We can’t stay stuck in this bubble forever!”

The irritating cat who apparently never knew when to take things seriously waggled his eyebrows and gave her a grin that clearly said he would be perfectly fine with staying stuck in the bubble with her forever.

Before she could tell him to stop flirting and get serious, her earrings beeped a frantic warning.

“Ladybug?” Cat Noir asked in alarm.

She barely had another few seconds to think about how stupid she’d been before her transformation fell in a flash of pink light. In her panic, she yelped and covered her own eyes as if that would stop Cat Noir from seeing her.

“Ladybug!” Cat Noir cried, trying to shift himself upright, but the bubble they were trapped in had them both slouched, legs tangled together. “You timed out?”

She nodded, still keeping her hands over her face because it seemed like it might actually be helping to hide her identity. Not that Cat Noir would recognize her or anything. They’d never met before, after all. But if he saw what she looked like, he might see her on the street later and recognize her—and knowing him, he’d be unable to keep from running right up and introducing himself.

“Wait.” Cat Noir’s voice grew suddenly pensive. “I’ve seen those clothes before.” He gasped and yanked her hands away from her face.

She opened her mouth to yell at him for acting so rashly, but she was stunned silent by the huge smile on his face. She was stunned even more by what he said next.

“Marinette?!”

She blinked at him. “Wh-what? How do you—? Wait! No! Don’t tell me!” If he recognized her, it meant they knew each other, which was even worse than she’d feared. He wouldn’t need to happen by her on the street. Her identity was _already_ compromised! He’d released her wrists, so she slapped her hands over his mouth. “Don’t say any more! Our identities are supposed to be secret!”

The enthusiasm in his eyes diminished enough that she didn’t think he’d blurt out his own name, so she let him pull her hands down. “Can you at least tell me what happened? Is your Miraculous malfunctioning? You didn’t even use a Lucky Charm.”

Marinette looked away in shame. “I . . . did. Before you got there.”

His eyebrows came together in confusion. “And I guess it didn’t help?”

She winced. “It did what I wanted it to do.”

Cat Noir cocked his head.

She sighed. Her partner might be infuriating sometimes, but she’d been the one to screw this all up, so she owed it to him to come clean. “That party Bubbler was throwing? My friends were there. I saw this boy I like dancing with a girl I really _don’t_ like, and I . . . did something really stupid out of jealousy. I used a Lucky Charm just to change the music so that girl would stop dancing with him.”

Her gaze landed on Tikki, tired and lying in her lap, who was looking at her with a mixture of disappointment and sympathy.

“I’m sorry, Tikki,” she told her kwami. “I was stupid. I’ve screwed everything up.”

Cat Noir put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s not all your fault, Marinette. I . . . did something pretty stupid, too. The truth is, I was already at the party before you showed up. I knew I should have transformed as soon as Bubbler appeared, but I let my kwami talk me into enjoying the party first.”

Tikki made an annoyed sound. “Plagg has always been a terrible influence. He and I are going to have words once this is over.”

Marinette blinked frantically, rapidly processing the information he’d just given her. If he’d been at the party . . . She’d gotten a good view of the people at the party, even if she hadn’t taken the time to identify every person consciously. There were a few she knew she’d have to think about to remember their names. But she _could_ do it if she tried. “No!” she cried dramatically. “Why would you tell me that?! Cat Noir, I told you to keep your identity a secret!”

“But I had to tell you that much, Milady. I couldn’t let you take all the blame yourself.”

She grumbled into her hand. Stupid, thoughtful cat. “Will you just Cataclysm us out of here?” They’d already tried kicking and scratching at the bubble, so Cat Noir’s power was the only way for them to get free.

“Right!” He wrapped an arm around her waist, that flirty grin back on his face. “Better hold on tight, Ladynette.”

She groaned in annoyance as she put Tikki in her purse and wrapped her arms around Cat Noir’s neck. “Do _not_ call me that.”

“Buginette?” he offered instead.

She gave him a flat stare in response.

“Maribug?”

Her eyebrows lowered.

“Marlady?”

“Just get us down!”

His expression grew serious as he tightened his hold on her. “Jokes aside, Marinette, you should wrap your legs around me, too. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if you slipped away from me at this height.”

Marinette blushed slightly at the thought, but he was absolutely right. Even though the bubble had stopped ascending a little while ago, they were so high up that the thought of falling without any kind of safety device drove any sense of embarrassment from her mind. Making sure her purse was between their bodies so she wouldn’t lose Tikki, Marinette wrapped her legs around Cat Noir’s waist and locked her arms around his upper body, holding on as tight as she could.

“Cataclysm!” Cat Noir shouted. The next moment, the bubble holding them disintegrated, and Cat Noir’s arms locked around Marinette as they plummeted.

The rush of wind was practically a physical force, and it felt like she left her stomach behind up above. She was facing the sky, so she didn’t have to look down, but it didn’t help all that much.

“Any idea how to break our fall, Milady?” Cat Noir asked, shouting to be heard over the wind even though his mouth was right next to her ear.

Steeling herself, she lifted her head to glance down. A light wave of vertigo made her dizzy, but she saw enough. “The tower!” she shouted back at him.

It was all the instruction he needed. While Marinette clung to him and squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn’t get distracted and lose her grip, Cat Noir’s hands left her body. She could feel by his movements how he used his stick to catch on the Eiffel Tower, one of his hands gripping her as he slowed their fall a little. After that, he was able to lengthen his stick below them faster than they were falling.

His arm around her was tight and reassuring as a sudden jolt told her that his stick had made contact with the ground. It immediately started slowing their fall, getting slower and slower until she felt like they were going slow enough that she could open her eyes.

They were only about a hundred feet of the ground and still going down. Cat Noir had one hand tight around her and the other on his stick. When he saw that her eyes were open, he gave her a reassuring smile. By the time they reached the ground, their landing was as gentle as getting off an elevator.

Luckily, they’d managed to land in a corner of a park where there weren’t any people around. She took a second to let her racing pulse calm down.

Cat Noir looked at her oddly for a moment, then shrugged and started walking.

She was still clinging to him like a baby koala. “Cat Noir, wait! Let me down!”

“You didn’t seem like you wanted down,” Cat Noir said, still walking.

The truth was that her joints weren’t quite ready to unlock. With an effort of will, she forced her limbs to release their white-knuckled grip on him—which led to a wild flail that would have landed her butt-first on the ground, but Cat Noir caught her and set her on her feet, laughing with pleasure.

“Don’t laugh at me,” she groused.

“But you’re so cute when you’re clumsy.”

Her body felt a bit like jelly at the moment, but she needed to get back to action as soon as possible. “I’m clumsy all the time.”

He smirked. “I know.”

She closed her eyes and forced the question of _how_ he knew out of her mind. They could worry about that later. Right now, they needed to recharge. “We’re not that far from my house. Let’s go in through my terrace. I’ll get some food for our kwamis, and you can stay in my room to feed yours while I stay downstairs. My parents are stuck in bubbles right now, so they won’t see us.”

Cat Noir glanced at the sky. “Speaking of which, how sure are we that we haven’t been seen already?”

Marinette followed his gaze. There were adults floating in bubbles high in the air—thankfully, too high to be able to see them well now that Marinette and Cat Noir were on the ground. “I didn’t see anyone close enough to us up there to see anything.” She said it with more confidence than she felt, but she did think she was probably right.

#

Things went pretty smoothly from there. They recharged, transformed, and defeated Bubbler. Cat Noir’s mind was still reeling from learning Ladybug’s identity, but he was able to set that revelation aside until after their job was done.

As soon as the akuma was cleansed and everyone had been brought back to earth, Cat Noir grabbed Ladybug’s hand before she could get away. “Can we talk for a minute, Milady?”

She sighed. “I guess we need to.”

They went to a rooftop where they could get some privacy. He desperately wanted to just blurt out who he was, but he’d seen something strange in her room, and he had a window of opportunity where she might give him a real answer. “So, Ladybug,” he said, trying to be as casual as he could, even though his heart was pounding, “I couldn’t help but notice the photographs in your room.”

She stiffened, blushing furiously through her mask. “You shouldn’t have looked at those!”

“It was hard not to,” he pointed out reasonably. “They were everywhere.”

For a second, it looked like she was going to claim they weren’t, then she sighed, her posture drooping.

He tilted his head, now equal parts curious, hopeful, and afraid that he was completely misreading things. “You said before that there was a boy you liked at this party, and that’s what led to everything.”

She sighed. “Okay. Yes. You’re right.”

His heart rate picked up. “I’m right? So, the boy you like is . . . the boy in those pictures?”

She gave him an _Are you kidding me?_ eyebrow raise. “Why else would I have so many of them? Yes, okay? I have a crush on him. A mad, stupid, can’t-think-straight-or-form-complete-sentences-when-I’m-around-him crush. Please just get all your teasing out of the way now.”

Cat Noir’s chest filled with so much joy, he thought he might burst. The happiness brought the biggest smile in the world to his face, bubbled out of him as laughter, and moved his body to rush toward her, wrapping her in a hug before she knew what hit her. As she stood still in surprise, Cat Noir held her tight and said, “Best birthday ever.”

Somehow, she managed to stiffen even more. “A-Adrien?” she squeaked.

He pulled back and held her at arms’ length. “Surprised?”

Her eyes were so wide, she kind of looked . . . terrified. Horrified, even. That . . . wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting. “No. No!” Ladybug jerked back, out of his grasp, and flailed wildly, grabbing at her hair and generally gesticulating like a cartoon character. “No! No, you can’t be him!”

Cat Noir’s heart, so full of happiness a moment ago, cracked. “It’s . . . it’s really me, Marinette,” he said, his hurt and confusion plain in his voice. Maybe she thought he was teasing her? “Claws in,” he said, dropping his transformation so she could see he was telling the truth.

Ladybug gaped at him, then turned her back on him and started crying into her hands.

Adrien knew he wasn’t good as social things, and he’d never had a girl that he liked before, so he wasn’t sure what to do. Should he leave and give her space? Should he make a joke? He didn’t know. All he could do was go on instinct, even though he knew that he’d probably mess it up. He approached her and said softly, “Please don’t cry, Marinette.”

She sniffled loudly but didn’t look at him.

“Can you . . . tell me what I did to upset you?”

Her pigtails whipped back and forth as she shook her head. Adrien shared a confused glance with Plagg, but before he tried something else, Ladybug said, “You didn’t. I just . . .” She didn’t talk for several seconds, but Adrien waited, and eventually she continued. “I’m just being stupid. I like you so much, and I’m afraid you’ll just keep teasing and flirting, and now that I know it’s you, I . . . don’t think I can take it.”

She liked him so much, so she didn’t want him to flirt with her? Were all girls this confusing. “I . . . don’t understand,” he prodded gently.

Even from behind, he was sure she rolled her eyes, and then she spun to give him an annoyed glare—but the heat left her eyes as soon as they locked with his. “I know it’s all a joke to you, but my feelings are real, so could you not—”

“What?!” he cried. “What’s all a joke? Ladybug, do you not—Oh, crap, I haven’t done this right, have I? Sorry, like I said, I haven’t really had friends before. I really haven’t had a girl I liked before. I kinda thought I was being super clear. I really like you, Ladybug! Like, for real. Really, really like. I know I may go a little overboard with the flirting sometimes, but it’s just because it’s so much fun to be with you.”

Ladybug’s eyes were huge like some kind of anime bunny, and she blinked tears from them, then wiped her hand over them to clear them further. “You . . . you really like me?”

“Yes!” He grabbed her arms, and she didn’t try to pull away. “I like you so much, Ladybug! You’re so brave and cool and beautiful! The way you stand up to the bad guys is amazing! And knowing you’re Marinette? That you’re one of my first real friends and a girl who’s cute and clever and kind and really funny? I like you even more! And if I really _am_ the boy you like . . .” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I mean, it’s pretty surprising, since I thought you were kind of uncomfortable around me. But if you like me, that’s great news! That means we like each other, and I can ask you out, and maybe you’ll be my girlfriend?” He hadn’t really meant for that last part to come out like that, but it was out now.

Ladybug blushed, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth. “Girlfriend?”

Her reaction made Adrien blush, too. “I mean, if, uh, yeah?”

She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tight. “Yes!”

As happy as he was, Adrien’s immediate concern was his sudden lack of oxygen. “Ugh, Ladybug, superstrength.”

She let him go, patting him down to make she he was okay. “Sorry!”

He took a deep breath, grinning at how cute she was. “Plagg, claws out.” As soon as he was transformed, Cat Noir swept her up into a tight hug and spun her around as she giggled with joy. When he set her down, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Even though I’ve always wanted to have a birthday party with a bunch of friends, I’m kind of glad my father refused to let me this time, Buginlady.”

She smacked his arm, laughing. “That one doesn’t even make sense.” As he tried to think of another play on her two names, her expression grew concerned. “You really haven’t ever had a birthday party?”

“Not one with friends,” he said. “But I haven’t ever had friends to invite before, either.”

“Adrien, that’s awful!”

He frowned, remembering the ‘party’. “Not as awful as me being so desperate for one that I let my friends be forced into a party thrown by a supervillain. One which they clearly didn’t want to be at.” At the time, he’d pretended not to see the expressions on their faces and their total lack of enthusiasm, so desperate was he to have a real birthday party. But now, looking back, he remembered with more clarity, and he felt like such a loser. “I can’t believe I tried to push it like that. I’ve never seen sad-dancing before today.”

“That’s not your fault!” Ladybug told him.

He gave her a look that said they both knew she was lying.

“Okay, maybe . . . it was a little,” she said. “But I’m sure no one blames you. Anyone would be a little desperate if they’d never gotten a birthday party before.”

He shook his head, trying to dismiss the topic, and took her hands in his. “It’s okay, Ladybug. Even if I didn’t get a birthday party, I got a girlfriend, and that’s even better.”

She smiled and blushed. “I did, um, get you something for your birthday.”

He lit up. “What? You did?”

“I was too nervous to give it to you, so I dropped it off at your house. But I forgot to sign it.”

Cat Noir laughed. “It’s a good thing you told me about it, then. I can’t wait to open it when I get home! What is it?”

“I can’t tell you,” she chastised. “But . . . it’s in a blue box with a pink ribbon.”

He squeezed her hands. “I’m sure it’s the best one I’ll get.” That was actually a pretty safe bet, considering the only present he usually got was from his father, and that was always something generic and lame.

Ladybug’s head jerked up suddenly. “Oh, no! What time is it?”

Cat Noir grabbed his stick from his back and opened it to show the time. “We’re late for class.” Nino’s akumatization had happened during their lunch break, and then the whole city-wide bubbling had happened. “Unless they called off the rest of school?”

“If they didn’t, they’ll probably give us a little leeway to get back, but we don’t want to get a tardy. I get enough of those as it is.”

“Me, too,” Cat Noir agreed, and they shared a little smile of camaraderie. This was going to be so great, having his lady at school with him. In his own class. They’d be able to help each other out if there was trouble, cover for each other, go in on excuses together. He grinned. “It’s a good thing we’re dating now, Milady.”

She looked at him, not asking the question he was obviously fishing for, but it was in the tilt of her head.

“Whenever we’re late because of supervillains, we can just say we were kissing and lost track of time.”

Her face turned so red, her skin nearly matched the color of her suit. Still grinning, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

Her expression twisted into a playful smirk. “In your dreams, Kitty.”

“You play hard to get,” he said, twining his fingers through hers as they walked to the edge of the roof, “but how many of my photos have you kissed?”

Her blush was all the answer he needed.

School had not been called off, but class hadn’t yet started back up yet. Which was a good thing, since Adrien and Marinette caused a bit of an uproar when they walked back into class, hand in hand.

Chloe threw a fit for some reason, Sabrina acted unhappy in solidarity with her friend, and Nathaniel shot a pained, jealous look at Adrien before going back to his sketching, but everyone else offered congratulations and playful demands to know exactly what had happened.

The two of them fumbled their way through some kind of explanation that amounted to Marinette confessing to him and Adrien telling her he’d secretly been interested in her for a little while, too. It was boring and undramatic, exactly the kind of story they needed so people (like Alya) wouldn’t look into the timing too closely. (Especially since Adrien was pretty sure Ladybug and Cat Noir would be an official couple soon, as well.)

Before class got started again, Adrien took a minute to apologize to his friends for the way he’d acted during the party. Like Marinette had predicted, they all forgave him and understood, especially when he explained about not ever getting a party with friends before. He still felt like he owed them a confession and apology about actively avoiding his duty to save Nino and the rest of them because of his own stupid selfishness, but obviously he couldn’t give them one.

It was a little surprising how easily they all got back to normal for the rest of the day, moving past one of them getting turned into a supervillain and everything else with hardly a shrug. But that was Paris these days. It was amazing what people could get used to.

After school, Adrien really wanted to spend more time with his new girlfriend, but his schedule would have none of it. He would need to decide whether to even tell his father or Nathalie about Marinette, but that could wait a little while. His driver took him straight from school to a photoshoot, then home. While he ate his dinner alone in the dining room, he was surprised by Nathalie walking over to him.

She held out a present—blue with a pink ribbon. Excitement shot through him as he realized he’d forgotten all about the present Marinette had said she’d left for him. (Wow, he would really need to try to be a better boyfriend. He hoped he’d have lots of time to work on it.) Just as he reached for the gift, about to thank Nathalie for bringing it over, her words stopped him short.

“A birthday present. From your father.”

All the excitement he’d just been feeling fizzled out, leaving a dull, hollow ache in his chest. Adrien knew his father had probably had Nathalie buy his presents for the past several years—maybe even his whole life. But at least they’d been from him in name, at the very least. But this year, it seemed Adrien wasn’t even worth that much consideration.

Adrien took the box, anger beginning to burn out some of the hurt. How dare his father try to steal Marinette’s gift like that? Or maybe it hadn’t been him. Maybe it had been Nathalie herself.

He took the box and dredged up a smile. “Please say thank you to my father for me,” he told Nathalie. It wouldn’t do any good to call her or his father out on the deception. Neither of them would apologize. It was better to just pretend along with them.

When he got to his room, he reverently opened the box to find a beautiful, soft, hand-made scarf. He immediately wrapped it around his neck and snuggled it against his skin. Even if it was the only birthday gift he’d gotten this year, it was enough—because it was the best, most thoughtful gift he’d ever received, from the person who was quickly growing to mean the most to him in the world.

The next morning, he passed his father in the foyer. Gabriel’s gaze caught on the scarf Adrien wore proudly. Coming closer, Gabriel took one end of the scarf in his hand, giving it a critical look. “Where did you get this?”

An odd mixture of relief and hurt pricked Adrien’s heart. Hurt that his father hadn’t even known what was in the box he’d claimed as his own gift (which meant there was a good chance Nathalie hadn’t known, either, or else she probably would have mentioned it to him). Relief that he wouldn’t have to pretend his gift was from anyone other than his wonderful girlfriend. “It’s a birthday present from one of my friends at school,” he said, deciding to save the ‘girlfriend’ discussion for another time.

After a few more seconds of examination, Gabriel released the scarf with a short breath that meant it had passed muster. Adrien allowed himself to be happy about that. Maybe he would be able to think of his father’s approval of Marinette’s work as Gabriel’s real birthday present to him. When Adrien told her about it later, he was sure it would make her happy, and that would make _him_ happy.

When Adrien’s ride pulled up in front of the school, he was excited to see Marinette and Alya standing right there by the steps. “Hey, girls!” he called as he got out.

“Yo, nice scarf, Adrien!” Alya said. “Off the chain.”

“I know, isn’t it?” Adrien said as he came over. “Can you believe my girlfriend made this for me? It’s so awesome, even my father liked it.”

Marinette’s eyes went huge, and she let out a loud squeal. “Really?! I mean—I’m glad _you_ like it, Adrien! That’s the main thing.”

He laughed and took her hand. “I do. Thanks for the amazing, thoughtful gift, Marinette.” He had a strong impulse to kiss her on the mouth, but it was probably still a bit too early for that, so he leaned in and kissed her cheek. She blushed adorably and clung to his arm.

Nino came over, and Adrien greeted his best bud, then the four of them walked into the school. Everything seemed normal enough (except for Adrien taking every opportunity he could to brag on Marinette and his new scarf), but when they stepped into the classroom, he was startled by a loud shout of, “Surprise!”

Adrien gaped at the balloons and presents and cake, not to mention all of his other classmates shouting a happy belated birthday to him. Marinette, Alya, and Nino all looked at him with pleased, knowing smiles.

“You guys planned this for me?” Adrien asked, still stunned.

Nino looped his arm over Adrien’s shoulders. “If at first you don’t succeed to party, try, try again.”

**Author's Note:**

> One thing I noted while rewatching this episode: Even though this takes place after 'Origins', so Ivan and Mylene are together, in the party scene, Mylene starts slow dancing with Nathaniel instead of him. Maybe that's why Ivan was in such a grumpy mood. ;-) (I feel like the random pair-ups with just whoever was nearby is part of what makes the dancing look so horribly depressing.)


End file.
